Turning on President Barack Obama and other Democratic leaders, a
significant chunk of the House Democratic caucus sided with
Republicans in an effort to effectively stifle the flow of Syrian
refugees into the US.

On Thursday, 47 House Democrats voted in favor of a bill authored
by Rep. Mike McCaul (R-Texas). The bill passed, 289-137, giving
it just enough to overcome a threatened veto from President
Barack Obama.

The legislation bars Iraqi and Syrian refugees from being
admitted to the US until the FBI director and the Director of
National Intelligence certify to Congress that each refugee does
not pose a national-security threat.

The bill's passage comes less than a week after the Paris terror
attacks, which left 129 dead and hundreds more injured. One of
the suspected attackers was found with a refugee passport, though
its authenticity has not been confirmed.

The Obama administration lobbied Democrats hard on Thursday, to
no avail. In a closed-door meeting, White House Chief of Staff
Denis McDonough and Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson
tried to convince skeptical Democrats.

But a Democratic source familiar with the meeting told Business
Insider that many Democrats came away from the presentation more
in favor of the GOP-led bill. The White House's presentation was
heavily focused on process, and Democrats feared it would not
translate into credible arguments they could make to skeptical
constituents.

Indeed, several Democratic sources told Business Insider on
Thursdaythat House Democratsfeared
the poor optics of voting against a bill strengthening barriers
for refugee resettlement specifically from Iraq and Syria. A
Bloomberg Politics survey released Wednesday found that 53% of
Americans favored barring any Syrian refugees from entering the
US.

A
Syrian refugee carries a bag she received as aid for the winter
from the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in Tripoli, northern
Lebanon.Thomson
Reuters

However, the bill passed with less Democratic support than
leadership had feared — which, before the vote, was anywhere up
to 100 defections.

And Senate Democrats were quick to say Thursday that the
legislation wouldn't pass through that chamber. A Senate
Democratic aide told Business Insider that the caucus
"doesn't think there's an issue with the refugee
process."

Obama, after the White House issued a veto threat late Wednesday,
said the legislation would provide unnecessary barriers for
refugees while doing little to make the US safer.

"The idea that somehow they pose a more significant threat
than all the tourists who pour into the United States every
single day just doesn’tjibewith reality," he said after a bilateral meeting
with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Many experts contend that attaining refugee status is one of the
most difficult ways for foreign nationals to travel to the US.

"It is extremely unlikely that someone who is a terrorist will be
sent through the refugee resettlement program," Greg Chen,
director of advocacy at the American Immigration Lawyers
Association,
told Business Insider on Monday.

"It takes a great deal of time, and it wouldn't make sense for
someone who is a terrorist to go through that process. There are
going to be easier ways for a terrorist to try to infiltrate,
rather than going through the refugee resettlement program."